Grindlays Bank

Grindlays Bank

Industry	Banking
Fate	Taken over by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in 1984
Founded	1828 (1828) in London, United kingdom
Founder	Robert Melville Grindlay
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Number of locations	183 (1863 - 1963)

The historic overseas bank was established in London in 1828 as Leslie & Grindlay, agents and bankers to the British army and business community in the India. Banking operations expanded to include the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and elements of Africa and Southeast Asia. It was styled Grindlay, Christian & Matthews in 1839, Grindlay & Co from 1843, Grindlay & Co Ltd from 1924 and Grindlays Bank Ltd in 1947 until it's merger with the National Bank of India.

The National Bank of India was formed in 1863 and became one of the larger London overseas banks operating not only in the Indian sub-continent but in communities around the Indian Ocean. In 1948 it purchased the smaller Grindlays Bank Ltd, renaming itself National and Grindlays Bank Ltd some ten years later. Following further acquisitions, its name was shortened to Grindlays Bank in 1974. Grindlays was taken over by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in 1984 and renamed ANZ Grindlays Bank.Standard Chartered Bank acquired ANZ Grindlays in 2000, after which the Grindlays name fell out of use.

Captain Robert Melville Grindlay established a firm, Leslie & Grindlay, in London in 1828, to arrange passage to and from India for customers and their baggage. In time, the firm added private banking activities to its menu of services. Changes in partners caused the firm to change its name to Grindlay, Christian & Matthews in 1839 and Grindlay & Co. from 1843. Capt. R M Grindlay retired in 1852. The firm remained based solely in London until 1854 when offices were opened at Calcutta and then Bombay in 1865. These offices were largely autonomous, administered from London, until the local partners interests were bought out in 1908. Additional branches were opened in Simla (1912), Delhi (1923), Lahore (1924) and Peshawar (1926).

Grindlays was regarded as "pre-eminently bankers to the Indian Army" and it did little commercial banking. The failure of army bankers, Macgrigors, in 1922 and then the Alliance Bank of Simla in 1923, encouraged the Grindlays partners to seek the security of a larger organisation. In 1924, the Bank was acquired by the National Provincial Bank, converted into a company and allowed to operate independently. When National Provincial decided to exit overseas banking in 1948, it sold Grindlays to the National Bank of India, in which it took a small share position.